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According to CDC (2015) a premature infant is one who is born before 37 week of pregnancy. One in every fifteen infants are born premature. African American women have a 50% higher risk to give birth to a premature infant than white women.  Premature infants face many health challenges. They are more prone to developing respiratory problems, health complications, and have higher mortality rates due to the lack of fully developed organs.

According to The impact of premature birth on society (2015) 15 million infants are born premature, of those, 1 million infants will die. The average cost of a premature infant is $54,194. Premature infants require critical care which involves respiratory, medications, and at times surgical interventions. These required interventions not only put a strain on ones economic, but also creates stress for family members. The stress increases in families due to the unpreparedness, long hospital stay, and fears of mortality. The organization COPE help families gain the knowledge, skills, confidence, improve care giving abilities, therefore increasing the outcomes of the affected infants. COPE can be reached via website www.copeforhope.com. Although there is some organizations that can offer help with coping and care of premature infants, not many families take advantage of these supportive services.

Premature infants care can be costly and create stressful situations for family members. Acquiring the support needed will help improve infants outcomes and help family members cope with these difficult situation. Education is a very important part of caring for premature infants as well as decreasing mortality rates.

References

Preterm Birth. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pretermbirth.htm

The impact of premature birth on society. (2015). Retreived from http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/the-economic-and-social-costs-aspx